Cotton cleaner and feeder.



No. 834.661 PATBNTED OCT. 30, 1906.

0. W. CRAWFORD. COTTON CLEANER AND EEEDEE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2. 1906.

2 SHEETS-$311131 1.

m: 6 I j g 3 [NI/ENTOR ATTORNEYS PATENTED OCT. 30, 1906.

0. w. CRAWFORD. COTTON CLEANER AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED APB. 2. 1906.

2 BHEETS SHEBT 2.

& m i rm m 0.,V m w W I M l/A WQmMQW M mfswkm an NW 6 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES WILLIAM CRAWFORD, OF HEIDENHEIMER, TEXAS.

' corrou CLEANER AND FEEDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30. 1 b

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WILLIAM CRAWFORD, a' citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Heidenheimer, in the county of Bell and State ofTexas, have invented a new and :useful Cotton Cleaner and Feeder, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cotton-cleaning.

which will be hereinafter fully describe and particularly pointed out inthe claims;

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferreform of the invention, it being, however,. understood that no limitationis necessarily made to the recise structural details therein exhibited,ut that changes, alterations, and modifications within the scope of the'invention may be made when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional .view of acotton-cleaner and ginfeeder constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the invention. Fig. 2 is' a detail vlew in elevation ofthe feed-roller detached from: the casing. Fig. 3 is a top plan view,enlarged, of the operating mechanism. Fig. 4 isa sectional detail viewtaken on the plane indicatedby the line'4 4 in Fig. 3. Fig. .5 is asectional detail view taken on the plane indicated by the line 5 5 inFig. 1 and showing a slight modification in the construction of thefeed-roller.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout bysimilar characters of reference.

A suitably-constructed casing C is provided, said casing having suitaly-disposed hinged doors, as D, through which access may be had to theinterior. The casing is provided with bearings for a shaft 1, carrying afeed-roller 2, which is dis osed directl be-' neath a hopper or inlet 3,t rough which the cotton who is to be operated u on is supplied to themachine. The fee -roller 2 is provided throughout its lengthwith annularApplication filed April 2,1908. Serial No. 309.421.

grooves or corrugations 4 4, which have been shown of approximatelysemicircular crosssection, the said grooves being spaced apart by ribs 55, which have been shown to be of a width about equal to the diameter ofthe grooves. The'ribs 5 5 are provided withradially-extending pins 6,which in a full-sized machine will be about one-halfof an inch inlength. The back of the casin is curved concentrically with the axis oft e shaft 1,

of the oors D is located. Above said. door is a h' ed deflecting boardor plate 6, Sn ported in operative position by an le brac e ts or rests7 and serving to lessen t e weight of cotton on the feed-roller 2 and toavoid clo ging'of cotton in the space between said roller and theadjacent wall of the casing. By hinging the deflecting-board, as shown,access may be had to theinterior of the cotton-chute 3 through theproximate door D.

Hingedly supported at the rear wall of the chute 3 is arearwardly-curved shield or deflector 11, which is sup orted adjustablyin operative position, as means of a setscrew 8, whereby said deflbctormay be readily adjusted to various positions, as shown by full and by'dotted lines in Fig. 1'. By this devicethe area of the feed-aperture maybe varied in order to regulate the feed.

Suitably supported for rotation in the casing C in advance of the shaft1, carrying the feed-roller, are shafts 9 and 10, caniiin w cpicker-rollers 11 and 12, the former of 1s disposeda'bove the latter.The rollers 11 and 12 are provided with radially-extending picker teetor pins, 13 and 14, adapted to carry the cotton over and in contactwith'the screen-surfaces 15 and 16, which are su ported within thecasing adjacent to t e rollers 11 and 12, respectively, said screensbeing supported in part b means of a brace 17 within the casing. T escreen 16 has a hinged portion 16*, which may be moved to an openposition when desired to afiord access to the surface of the picker-roll12 for the x 5 carryin the feed-roller, in front'of which one I purposeof removing such obstructions as ma lodge between the roll and thescreen an which would not otherwise be conveniently accessible.

The screen 15 is also sup orted by a crossbar 15, adjacent to which isarranged a longitudinally-adjustable' crossbar 16, which atter mayextend throu h slots, as 17, in. the end walls of the casing, which maybe provided with supportin -screws, as 18', engagin nuts 19, swivele inthe ends of the crossar 16, which may thus be nicely .adjusted. Saidcross-bar is rovided with notches 20 for the assage o the teeth 6 of thefeed-roll, with re ation to which the crossbar 15 ma be spacedsufficiently to enable a portion 0 such coarse impurities as may becontained in the cottonto be separated at this stage.

In Fig. 5 a modified form of the feed-roller has been shown, whichconsists in making said roller in the form of a true cylinder withoutthe annular grooves shown at 4 in Figs. 1 and 2.

The brace 17 extends adjacent to the screen 16, so as to guide materialpassing through the screen 15 into the lower part of the casing C, wherea screw conveyer .18 is arranged for the purpose of carrying thescreenings and the impurities escaping between the feed-roller and thecross-bar 15 to a' place of deposit. The screenings passing through thescreen 16 drop directly into the lower dpart of the casing, which ishoppersha e so that the screenings will be guided to t e trough 19, inwhich the screw conveyer is supported. The screen 16 is provided in thelowerportionthereof with a slot 27, in

which are disposed a plurality of inclined slats or deflectors 28,between which coarse impuritiessuch as avel, nails, bolts, and otherbits of metal an the likethat are not capable of passing through themeshes of the screen may escape.

The cas' has an exit-opening 20, through which the c ean cotton passesover a slide or apron 21 to the hopper of the gin, which is representedin dotte lines at 22 in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The casing G is suitablysupportedfor'operation upon the -stand, and the slide or apron 21 isprefera lysupported hingedly or otherwise movably, as at 23, in order.to aflord access to the gin-brush.

The shaft 10, is driven, as by means of a pulley 24'and' a band 25, fromthe source of power, which may bethe saw-shaft of the gin inconnectionwithwhich the feeder is employed. Motion mayl be transmittedfrom the shaft 10 to the s aft 9, as by means of a belt 26, said shaftsbeing rotated -in the same direction. The shaft 10 extends through abracket 29, which is secured upon the casing G, as by means of bolts 30,and said shaft 10 carries -a pinion meshing with a pinion 31 upon ashaft 32, which is journaled in said bracket 29. The shaft 32 carries aworm 33, meshin with a wormgear 34 u on one of a pair 0 approximatelyparallel. shafts 35, which are supported for rotation lengthwise in thebracket 29, said shafts 35 being longitudinally slidable in theirbearings. The shafts 35 are provided with inter-meshing pinions 36, saidpinions, as well as the worm-gear 34, being sphned rotated. To regulatethe u on the shafts so as to rotate with the latter,

e forward ends of the shafts 35 35 are connected by means of a yoke 37,through which operates a screw 38, having a hand-wheel 39, said screwbeing swiveled 1n the bracket 29. The shafts 35 are provided withfrictionwheels 40, frictionaly engaging a frictiondisk 41 upon the shaft1, carr ing the feed roller 2, which latter may be t ereby slowly s eedof rotation, the shafts 35, which are disposed at right angles andradially to the shaft 1', may be moved by the adjusting-screw 38 toregulate the distance of the friction-rollers from the axis of the shaft1.

In order to enable wear upon the frictionwheels 40 to be compensatedfor, it is preferred to support the shafts 35 partially in boxes 35,transversely slidable in suitable ways in the supporting-brackets 29 andhaving" threaded a ertures e aged by a right and left screw-t readed re36, operable by a handle 37, whereby the boxes may be moved toward eachother to cause the wheels 40 to grip the disk 41. The movement necessaryto effect this result is so slight that the ordinary looseness of theshafts 35 in their respective hearings will permit said shafts to bedisplaced to the needed extent from their normal parallel relation.

The pinion 31 is mounted loosely upon the shaft 32, and the hub of saidpinion has a clutch member 42, adapted to be en aged by a clutch member43, which is slida le upon and rotatable with the shaft 32, said clutchmember 33 being operable b a shipping-lever 44, whereby it ma be p acedinto or out of enga 'ement with tlie clutch member 42. When t e clutchmembers are out of eng ement, the pinion 31 will rotate idly upon ieshaft 32 and the movement of the feed-roller may thus be interruptedwhen desired.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the o eration and advantages of this invention w' 1 bereadily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

The feed-roller will be rotated at a low rate of speed, which is,however, capable of being governed by simply adjusting the shafts 35 ymeans of the screw 38. The cotton, which may be placed in the hopper 3by an desired means, will be conveyed by the fee roller through theaperture 7 and will then be laid hold of by the picker-roller 11 ,wherebit is carried over the screen-surface 15, whic is of relatively finemesh and through which dust and small impurities mayesca c. When thecotton leaves the roller 11, his laid hold of by the picker-roller 12and is thereby carried over the screen-surface 16, which is of coarsermesh and through which coarser impurities may escape -nails, bits ofiron,

and the like assing over the deflectors 28 in the slot 27. rom theroller 12 the cotton,

which has now been cleaned and purified, will pass through the exit-slotand over the slide 21 to the gin. I

This improved cleaning and feeding device is simple in construction,easily installed and regulated, and thoroughly efficient for the puroses for which it is provided.

aving thus described the invention, what is claimed is v 1. In a cottoncleaner and feeder, a casing having a feed-opening,a feed-roller supported in the casing below the feed-opening, picker-rollers supported in thecasing in advance of the feed-roller and one above another,screen-surfaces adjacent to the picker-rollers, a brace within thecasing'constituting attaching means for the screen-surfaces andconstituting also deflecting or guiding means for material passingthrough the upper screen, and a conveyer within the casing to carry thescreenings to a place of discharge.

2. In a cotton cleaner and feeder, a casing having a feed-chute, afeed-roller and pickerrollers sup orted. for rotation in said casing, acurved de ector in the feed-chute for regulating the passage of materialfrom the feedroller to the proximate picker-roller, adjusting, andsupporting means for said deflector,

v screens siapported adjacent to the pickerrollers, an conveyer meanswithin the casing for disposing of the screens.

3. In a cotton cleaner and feeder, an annularly-grooved feed-rollermounted for rotation and a serrated bar cobperating with the same, saidgrooves occurring opposite the spaces between the serrations of the bar.

4. A cotton cleaner and feeder, a feedroller mounted for rotation andprovided throughout its length with annular grooves, and having pinsextending from the ribs spacing said grooves and a serrated bar co('perating with the same.

5. In a cotton cleaner and feeder, a feedroller mounted for rotation andwith alternately-disposed annular ribs and rooves and having pinsextending radially from the ribs and a serrated bar cobperating with thesame.

6.In a cotton cleaner and feeder, a feedroller having annular series ofradially-extending pins, in combination with a cross-bar ad'ustablysupported adjacent to said feedroller and having notches for the passageof the pins.

7. In a cotton cleaner and feeder, a casing,

provided a feed-roller supported for rotation in the casing and havingannular series of radially-ex-v tending pins, ascreen-supportingcross-bar in the casing adjacent to -the feed-roller,and an adjustable cross-bar adjacent to the screen supporting cross-barand having notches for the passage of the teeth of the feed-roller.

8. In a cotton cleaner and feeder, a casing, a feed-roller supported forrotation in the casing and having annular series of radiallyextendingpins, a cross-bar disposed adacent to the feed-roller and extendingthroug slots in the end walls of the casing, nuts swiveled in the endsof the cross-bar, and supportingscrews engaging-the nuts; said cross-barbeing provided WlthliOtOllGS for the passage of the pins-of thefeed-roller.

9. In a cotton feeder and cleaner, a casing, a feed-roller within saidcasing havin an extended shaft, a friction-disk upon the Iatter, apicker-roller supported in the casing and having an extended drivenshaft, a pair of slidably-supported shafts having friction-Wheelsengaging opposite sides of the friction-disk upon the shaft of thefeed-roller, intermeshing pinions upon said shafts, a worm-gear upon oneof said shafts, a counter-shaft having a worm meshing with saidworm-gear, and means including a clutch for transmitting motion from thedriven shaft of the picker-roller to the worm-carrying shaft.

10. A casing, a feed-roller within the casing and having a shaftextending through the latter, picker-roller within the casing and havinga driven shaft extending through the latter, a counter-shaft having aworm, a pair of longi tudinally-movable shafts having frictionwheelsengaging opposite sides of the frictiondisk, intermeshing pinions u onsaid shafts, a worm-engaging gear slidab y engaging one of thelongitudinal shafts, a yoke connecting the longitudinal shafts, aswiveled adjusting-screw extending through said yoke, and meansincluding a clutch for transmitting motion from the drivenpicker-roller-oar ing shaft to the worm-carrying counter-she t.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

Witnesses:

W. M. HQPE, B. JonNsoN.

a friction-disk upon said shaft, a

